SuperMum Bakery launches baking skills initiative for single mothers

PETALING JAYA: The SuperMum Bakery is ready to take on a new batch of single mothers and train them in the art of baking. The baking programme is currently helmed by Chef Michelle Low, who has more than 20 years of experience in the field.
Low, who is also a single mother of two children, said she hopes that 18 single mothers will be qualified under the programme by year-end.
"There are two shifts which they can choose from and they will be trained for four months to ensure that they are ready to enter the workforce. They will also be given a RM500 stipend.
"They may not only become pastry chefs, but also open their own business or be part of a marketing team because of their exposure here at the bakery," Low told reporters here today, at the celebration of Supermum's Day baking skills programme.
Also present was Ng See Yin, a 56-year-old widow with two children.
"I'm worried because I'll be made redundant soon as the school that I work for will close down. I hope by having an extra skill I'll be able to earn an additional income," she said.
P. Tharani echoed Ng's sentiment, saying that her family's expenditure is about RM1,000 a month to support three children.
"How can we survive with RM10 a day? I have to be careful and manage our expenses while ensuring my youngest son gets the education he needs," she said.
Bandar Utama assemblyman Jamaliah Jamaluddin launched the programme and said she hopes single mothers will use this platform to become independent and establish their own baking businesses.
The programme was initially mooted for single mothers in Aceh during the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, and the initiative subsequently became a community service project in Taman Megah, Kelana Jaya, undertaken by the Rotary Club of Petaling Jaya (RCPJ), and supported by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) and theSun.
The idea was conceived in early 2005 when Harjit Singh, the RCPJ president at the time, and his schoolmate, theSun's former columnist R. Nadeswaran, who discussed the newspaper's role in the rehabilitation of tsunami victims.
theSun then purchased commercial-scale baking equipment worth RM120,000 to be shipped to Aceh, but due to red tape, the project took place here instead.
Those who are keen to join the programme can contact Rotarian Rianne Chin at 012-3038126.